MWL1 Lake County Captains

Captains Score in First Five Innings to Down Cubs in Opener

Published on June 27, 2016 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Lake County Captains News Release


(South Bend, IN) - A flurry of one-run innings led the Lake County Captains to victory at Four Winds Field on Monday night. Lake County scored one run in each of the first five frames and defeated the South Bend Cubs in the series opener, 6-1.

Ordomar Valdez got the Captains started right out of the gates and helped Lake County score just two batters into the game. Valdez began the game with a triple down the right field line and scored on an RBI single by Willi Castro to put the Captains up in the first, 1-0.

The first inning was a sign of things to come for Valdez, who finished the game 3-for-5 with two RBI a run scored and a stolen base. In the second, he gave the Captains a 2-0 lead with an RBI single that scored Sicnarf Loopstok. After an RBI fielder's choice by David Armendariz scored Nathan Lukes in the third, Valdez went to work again in the fourth. Once again, Valdez delivered an RBI single, this time to score Anthony Miller and put the Captains on top, 4-0. The Captains finally finished their string of one-run innings in the fifth when a Jose Medina double to right scored Loopstok.

While the Lake County offense assaulted South Bend starter Adbert Alzolay with a series of one-run innings, the Captains' starting pitcher was putting up zeroes. Tom Pannone pitched the first five innings without allowing a run. In that stretch, he only allowed one man to reach scoring position.

The Cubs finally scored a run against Pannone in the sixth on an RBI single by Eddy Martinez, but it did not diminish his outing. Pannone (5-4) earned the win after giving up just one run over six frames. He allowed six hits, walked one and struck out five.

Lake County tacked on an insurance run in the eighth without registering a hit. Cubs reliever Greyfer Eregua hit Loopstok to lead off the inning and South Bend left fielder Roberto Caro dropped a routine fly ball. That opened the door for Angel Miguel who came through with a sacrifice fly to score Loopstok and give the Captains a 6-1 advantage. Loopstok scored three of the Captains' six runs on the night.

Erick Algarin and Christian Meister combined for three scoreless innings out of the bullpen to seal the win. Algarin pitched perfect frames in the seventh and eighth, while Meister allowed a leadoff single in the ninth, but struck out the next batter and induced a game-ending double play to finish off the victory.

Alzolay (5-4) suffered the loss after allowing five runs, four earned, over five innings. He gave up 11 Captains hits, did not walk a batter and struck out five.

The Captains improved to 3-2 in the second half and handed South Bend its first loss since the All-Star break, dropping the Cubs to 4-1. Lake County and South Bend meet again on Tuesday night at Four Winds Field. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m.

Individual game tickets are on sale at the Classic Park box office, online at captainsbaseball.com and by phone at 440-954-WINS (9467). 12-, 20-, and 35-game mini ticket plans for the 2016 season are on sale now at great prices complete with several exclusive benefits. Information can be found at the Captains website www.captainsbaseball.com.

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Midwest League Stories from June 27, 2016


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